Chapter 16: Sammys and 'Pagne

nerd blog post #17

Yesterday morning I got up early to go to La Prefecture. I normally translate everything into English, but I have no idea what it really means.. It's the land where I was to get my work visa extended past three months. Most of you don't know this, but the French consulate in Toronto made me jump through a thousand hell-fire hoops to get my work visa there, only to give it to me for three months.. The rest of the hoops were to be jumped through here.. The examinations the day before were part of it. In order to minimize waiting time, as I thought it might be busy there, I arrived at 845am, fifteen minutes before opening. I thought I would wait outside for fifteen, and then rush right through, getting out by 920 or so. Wrong. Before the large gates stood more than sixty people, and by the time they opened, the line had tripled behind me. All of a sudden, the stampede started. People from the back ran to the front, pushing women and children aside to try and get in first. Now, I am all for orderly lines and fairness, but I also refuse to end up last when I was in the first quarter of the giant line. So I dropped some bows, joined in the stampede, had a small argument with a rude man, and got in around where I should have anyways. I took my number and sat down. ... FOREVER. I didn't get out of there until after 11am. The lady asked me a hundred (mostly obscure) questions, looked at pages and pages of documents and their photocopies, and gave me a work visa that expires at the end of December. Awesome. Can't wait to do it all again.

Later, when I took the visa to my boss, she told me that they would likely call me back for an appointment, at which time they would issue me a work visa for the duration of my contract.. That would be good.

I spent the afternoon on campus, wanting to accomplish three things:
1. logging onto the wifi network
2. signing up for courses
3. joining sports teams
I was successful in the following ways:

1. The wifi worked out better than I imagined in the end, because I found a new techie friend! Little brother Ian has always been my saving grace, and has even given me transatlantic advice when things go wrong. There has also often been *insert bf here* who has been able to help. But this time, I needed a proxy address to be able to tap in, and I didn't know what it was or how to get it.

Enter Jean-Francois, a techie in love with Linux, Ubuntu, and my little lappy. He was delighted to help me out and explain how it all works. He said I could go back with any problems I run in to. Thanks, J-F!

2. One of the co-directors of the program was talking to me about writing a second Master's while I'm here. I study free of charge here, and since I already have one, I would be able to bypass year 1 and just do the 2nd year. I could take the courses during the year and write the dissertation in the summer. But I reallllyy wanted to take German. I thought about it for awhile, and decided that learning another language is more important to me right now than getting a random Master's degree just because I can. Maybe that's silly, but it's what I want right now. So I signed up for German class which is four hours a week and I'll start next Monday. The students I'll be with will have had a few years of German already, but I'd rather be at the bottom of the class and learn more, than take something like English and be bored. Obviously.

3. Cynthia and I checked out the intermural sports at the university and chose some we'd like to do. She doesn't like ball sports, so she's doing track and swimming. I'm doing volleyball a couple of times a week. Together, we want to check out if handball is that same great activity we played in elementary school against the school wall. And we're taking a dance class together entitled LindyHop. I don't know how to LindyHop, but will show you all upon my return. I also think it also sounds like DirtyPop, a hit NSync song from the 90s. And I love the 90s.

After that, we saw a poster that advertises free salsa lessons downtown, so we went to try and find the place. Unsuccessful, we ended up just walking around, down streets we hadn't yet seen. All of a sudden, we got to The Red Bean, a cafe that specializes in hot chocolate, and one many people have been talking about. Beside it, there was a crowd of people standing around and sipping champagne. We ventured over to see what the party was. Turns out, they were opening up a new Subway and giving out free sandwiches (any kind!) and champagne! God Bless America. We ate a delicious sammy and sipped champagne like rockstars for a long time. The Subway lady filled up our glasses until we were so full of the bubbly-bubbly that we left.

This morning I taught two classes. One was like the Monday one, except that instead of switching off with a professor, I'll switch off with another lecteur after the six weeks. It was a large class of all young French women. They were pretty shy but seem like nice students. I felt more confident than I did on Monday (since it was my first) and I think it went really well.

The other is a second year phonetics/pronunciation class. They're in a lab and sit in booths and there's a tape that plays and they practice. It's very structured. I sit at the front of the class and wear a headset like a pilate or a McDonalds drive-through worker and can individually listen in and correct them. At the end of the term, they record their final exam, and their mark is decided based on their weekly work, and their exam. This was a small class with less than ten students. A couple were nineteen, and the rest around or above my age. Mostly guys. Having worked in the labs before, they knew how they worked, and seemed to mostly hate it. I would, too. Pronunciation is frustrating in a second language, and a few of them are repeating this course again, after having failed it last year. They seemed to like me, though. As encouragement, I spoke in French a little bit, and sympathized with the fact that gaining a perfect accent in a second language is, as an adult, near impossible. And I don't expect that. Correct intonation and consistency is important, as well as an obvious effort to correct the bad 'abits we 'ave. I think it will be a good semester with them.

I saw Cynthia afterwards, and her now married roommate told her that she's starting to clear out, and that I can start staying there whenever I want. I won't have a key until October, but will definitely start sleeping there. I don't talk too much about the slum motel conditions anymore.. This is not because they have improved. In fact, I hate the slum motel so much more than I ever have, and as I don't want my blog to be a way for me to vent my problems (that's annoying), I have left the details out altogether.

Right now, Doctor is flying through the air, but fast approaching London. He'll be there for a night before heading to Rennes. Those of you who have seen me extremely excited will understand that the reason I can't write about how much I look forward to the visit is because there aren't really words to describe it.. I really, really can't wait.

To change the subject, I would like to publicly award my mother 132 points for sending me my first piece of mail. Yes, I check the mailbox everyday. Yes, it was a letter asking me my jury duty availability. Yes, I was very excited and ran up the stairs to read the small note attached. I mention it, though, because as I will only be there until the end of the month, any love letters or acrostic poems you are in the midst of perfecting should be sent out soon, as I will no longer check mail come October.

I would now like to talk about two things that I love, and two things that I do not love, about France or French culture (as I've noticed in Rennes). One will be a shorty about bathrooms, and one a little longy about other things. This is the supplementary reading package of the nerd blog, so if you are tired of reading, I understand.

Ahem.

Love
1. Co-ed bathrooms. For multiple reasons:
a) Women take too long. Always. This evens things out in a big way.
b) I hate being with male friends and having to put conversations on hold just so I can go into a separate room, even though it's something I don't care about. In Canada, I would often just use the men's, so I wouldn't have to stop talking or miss something important or fun.
c) I think it's the way of the future. Or should be. Gender shmender.

2. France is incredibly environmental. These are things I appreciate:
a) In the hallways and staircases of apartments and offices, the lights must be switched on when entering. After a few minutes, they turn off again. Darkened corridors and staircases are everywhere, unless there's someone in them.
b) Smaller cars everywhere. And less driving in the city. With an efficient and well-maintained metro system, people leave their cars at home and ride the rocket. Or cycle.
c) Less dryers. People hang their clothes up and wait for them to dry. Everyone.
The list goes on.

With more than double of Canada's population, France is making a conscious effort to not destroy the planet even further. I wish Canada would look here as an example. I have a very wise friend, who recently wrote about the upcoming elections. One thing he/she said was, "People don't know this, but Canada is actually one of the world's worst polluters. But we get all self-righteous cause America is worse and we're the comparatively less irresponsible little brother. It's time to change that." I couldn't agree more. Just because we have a small population living on a massive piece of land, doesn't mean we can pretend as if our resources won't run out or our actions won't have long-term consequences. As another wise man says, "What are YOU doing for Kyoto?" (2 points if you can identify him..)

Don't Love:
1. Public washrooms are not actually public. You have to pay! In the metro, train station, and "public" squares, you're asked to pay close to $1.00 to use the washroom. Unbelievable. Restaurants and bars are not keen on letting non-patrons use their facilities. I have found the perfect trick, which is entitled the Language Card. Thickest Canadian accent I can use, "Exuse-moy. S'il vous play, le toilet? Je suis canadian. Je le toilet. S'il vous play." Works like a charm.

2. I don't want to go on about this for too long because I actually feel very strongly about it and it makes me feel quite useless. But there is a very strong sense of nationalism that prohibits the full inclusion of minority groups. Deep-rooted in an historic and cultural pride that, being a foreigner, I can never fully understand, the idea of being French seems reserved to only those who have only ever been French, as far back as their line goes. Meaning that they are white. This sentiment is not only noticeable to me in a place like the Prefacture, but on the streets as well. Before I open my mouth, people assume I'm French because I'm white. This is not, however, the case for non-whites, even if their first language is French and they were born here. I know that it is not in an attempt to be racist, but the effect of this attitude is exclusion and intolerance.

I am quite sure that this is the reason the slum motel is full of North Africans, who are French in my eyes, as they were born here, but remain foreigners in the eyes of many others. And I know that I feel this way largely because of how Canada has shaped me. As another friend recently said, "Canada is percieved as and is a welcoming country that works well with diversity." This is why people like us! This is why I like us!

And purely anecdotally: The French word for foreigner is étranger, having the word "strange" embedded right in it. It has always struck me as an unwelcoming word...

End of supplementary reading package.

This afternoon is sunny and warm, and I plan on getting out of this office and taking advantage of it! I hope this finds you all well.

With love,
Hincks.